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Enjoy your stay Thanx for visiting |
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~ Feeling Lucky ~
Luck is an interesting thing. Many people would argue that either you have it or you don't. I prefer to think of luck as just a matter of good timing (or bad timing) and how you perceive the difference. I do agree that luck does play a big part in the scheme of things in a lot of people's lives. I have come across many people who actually rely on it as a source of income for themselves. I have always felt that I have been lucky at a few things in my life but I have also felt unlucky with a lot of things in my life. Luck doesn't seem to be all that important to me because I have never been able to rely on it. I do admit though that it is a nice feeling when good luck does find you.
Luck to me is something unexpected. It is an event or meeting that just happens. The best example I can give is slot-machine gambling. I have travelled to many casinos across North America and have always found that luck is the one thing that every gambler seems to count on. They say the traditional things like "I feel lucky today", or "This machine feels lucky". I have even thought it to myself when I have been standing there, face-to-face, with one of those "inviting" quarter slot-machines. They actually entice you into believing that you will be lucky. You can't help but be caught up in the "fever". The signs of good fortune and riches are everywhere. Of course there are alarms and flashing lights whenever anyone hits a jackpot, so you know people are winning. The casinos want you to believe that you will be lucky today and all the riches of the world will be yours if you play the machines long enough. It is very subtle but a deliberate way of marketing.
There have been a few times when I've been lucky playing slot machines. The problem with this attitude is that most of the time I am deceiving myself. I have to put in $20 worth of quarters to get $18 back out of the machine. You hear all the bells and whistles go off when you win a smaller jackpot (let's say 50 coins) but then you end up feeding the coins back into the machine with the hunch that you will hit the "big one". It is so seductive. The entire purpose of playing the machine is to prove to yourself that you are lucky. You truly think you can beat the machine and it will sacrifice its hardware and electronics and give-in to you. It is such a silly thing to think but every single slot-machine gambler, young or old, thinks exactly the same way (or they wouldn't be playing them). If you manage to win a major jackpot (and there are many who do), it makes you feel wonderful and alive. Luck is a very powerful aphrodisiac that can supersede almost every other emotion, including love. I can't explain why, but I am sure there are people who have abandoned their spouses (maybe just momentarily) because they feel this powerful sense of self-esteem and luck.
So, getting back to timing. Luck to me is really just a matter of timing. If you happen to be at the right slot-machine at the right time, you may win a jackpot that is bigger than the amount of money you have already put into that machine. It doesn't happen too often but it does happen. On the "other side of the coin", there will be times when you feed 20 or 30 quarters into one machine and get nothing. It is frustrating and disappointing but you don't feel any anguish. You just think to yourself.... "Oh well, it isn't a lucky machine" and you move on. The timing appears to be off. You never think of it as a timing thing because you are concentrating on seeing if you are lucky.
Many people seem to be superstitious about their luck. They will carry good luck charms with them wherever they go. I remember seeing all these little "trolls" at many a bingo parlour. They are apparently supposed to bring "good luck" to whomever they are staring at. God knows how (they are quite ugly but somehow cute). I have never been all that good at bingo because I think there is really only a random chance of winning any kind of jackpot anyway. Maybe they know something I don't know. Needless to say it has been awhile since I last played any serious bingo.
The same holds true for competitive sports. Many Olympic athletes have virtually identical skills in the same sport but on race day it all comes down to that one common denominator, "luck". Athletes competing at this level will tell you that it is a matter of tremendous concentration and a bit of luck. I would argue that it is just a matter of perfect timing. Think of how many events in the Olympics are "precision timed" and judged based on scoring in extremely small increments (one hundredth of a second). The skill levels are so well-matched between these athletes that they need to rely on a piece of "luck" to pull them through to that elusive gold medal. You see the jewellery, the superstitious pair of running shoes, the hair cut a certain way (sometimes bald), a favourite "lane". Whether they actually help will never be known, but if it gives them comfort and confidence to win a race, then it is a good thing.
Luck is a very dangerous thing. If you rely on it, you may fail. If it happens to fall on you, you consider it a miracle. Everyone trusts that there is an elusive quality to luck that no one has ever managed to master. People have even said that I am lucky because I have this talent to write a nice book. Now, I don't consider that luck because I had to work hard to find the skills to do this. But then again, I could be wrong.... Maybe I am lucky ?
Pure and simple....
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- This Storyworx page updated May 20th, 1998 -